Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Overview

Career and technical education (CTE) is a type of teaching that conveys specific career skills to students at various educational levels and settings. Middle school, high school, and post-secondary students may participate in various forms of CTE. This type of teaching and learning emphasizes the importance of preparing students for careers and becoming productive citizens.

Students with career and technical education backgrounds are likely to enter professions with existing knowledge and skills that will make them valuable additions to their chosen industry without the need for in-depth introductory training. Career and technical education accomplishes this by offering students hands-on lessons in applied contexts modeled upon the real world. Unlike students in other forms of education who focus on theories, career and technical education students focus on the practical side of education and what they will need to know and do to succeed.

Although career and technical education spans countless fields, its practitioners often identify sixteen main areas in which it primarily applies. These areas are known as career clusters because they represent groups of fields with related skills and opportunities. Some state educational departments and other sources have formed their own unique categories. Students in those states may find some variations and different requirements.

For modern students, one of the most important and cutting-edge career clusters in career and technical education is in the field of information technology, or IT. Gaining hands-on practical skills in information technology can give students a distinct edge in using computers and internet devices, either for other people’s businesses or to start their own. The information technology market is growing and spreading and is one of the most open to newcomers. Entry-level IT workers may find employment with all sorts of organizations, from small businesses to world-class internet corporations, and opportunities for advancement are above average. Students trained in IT may learn about information transfer, digital networking, assessment of server functions, cloud-based models for business, and many other topics relating to the use of technology to gather, assess, store, and transmit data. Some of the main careers related to this cluster include network specialist, IT solution technician, and website engineer.

Another major career cluster in career and technical education is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). STEM careers span much of the world economy, from teaching to engineering to computer technologies. Students who focus on STEM careers may master computer-aided design, vehicle or machinery repair, or scientific research. A great demand for STEM knowledge and skills exists in world markets today, meaning that a graduate with STEM training has a better-than-average chance of easily finding a lucrative position in a field of interest. Many educators also note that the availability of graduates skilled in STEM topics is much lower than the demand in the early 2020s, which further aids those who study in this cluster.

Career and technical education can even lead students on a path to become educators and trainers themselves. Students in that realm may discover the practical realities of the learning process, training techniques in a variety of fields, lesson planning, and classroom management. Related jobs such as teaching aide and training consultant can allow students in this field to work in classrooms or for a variety of organizations worldwide.

One of the most important career clusters in modern times is health science. Students in this area often move on to careers as nurses, certified medical assistants, or patient care technicians. Traditionally, students who sought to enter the healthcare profession often had to progress through traditional theoretical education, which may require many years of expensive post-secondary studies. Students who pursue health science careers through career and technical education programs can fast-track into fields where they can provide valuable services in helping people in need. These students generally work to attain certifications in various areas or skill sets; a few of these include certified nursing assistants, clinical medical assistants, phlebotomy technicians, and certified medical administrative assistants. The National Healthcareer Association is a leading certifier of career and technical education students in healthcare fields. Health science is one of the most common and important career clusters in modern career and technical education for various reasons. The world population is rapidly expanding and aging, meaning that more people are living longer and requiring more medical assistance. At the same time, traditional approaches to medical support education, often requiring extensive and costly post-graduate studies, pushed many interested candidates out of the field, leaving a healthcare gap. The challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the demand for qualified healthcare workers.

Students with an interest in helping people improve their lives, and not just their physical health, may gravitate toward the career cluster of human services, which teaches the basics of helping various groups and individuals within a society. People in this cluster may become social or rehabilitation workers who help people experiencing drug addiction, complex family dynamics, abuse, or poverty. This career cluster typically offers lower pay than most others, but those who choose it are often driven by a deep sense of caring and a desire to help others that makes up for the lessened financial rewards.

The field of manufacturing encompasses another career cluster in career and technical education. Students specializing in manufacturing may become experts in materials management, acquisitions, or production specialists. These students study production practices and processes, manufacturing materials, laws and guidelines, and other topics relating to creating mass consumer products. Experts consider this a valuable cluster but note that manufacturing in the United States greatly slowed in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, with many companies relying on other countries, such as China, to produce the items for them. This situation presents possible challenges for students seeking domestic manufacturing jobs.

Students interested in designing and building may find a path to architecture and construction through a career and technical education. This career cluster encompasses all the tasks related to the planning and building structures, from bridges to buildings. Students may gain valuable hands-on experience to help them find jobs in technology, inspections, or estimating relating to construction projects.

Another major career cluster is in business, management, and administration. This cluster spans a wide variety of professions relating to modern business, providing students with practical foundational knowledge to help start or run a business. Students who pursue business careers through career and technical education will not likely gain the level of expertise as students who pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the same area, but they will probably benefit from a briefer period of study, more practical education, and greatly reduced expenses. Successful students in the business cluster may attain certifications to prove their abilities and accomplishments. Some of these apply to specific skills, such as mastery of a particular program or knowledge of environmentally sustainable business practices. Some certifications include Microsoft Office Specialist, Six Sigma Green Belt, Project Management Professional, and Certified Scrum Master. These and other accomplishments can contribute to careers in human resources, data entry, and business management.

Other business-minded students may pursue a career and technical education in the cluster of marketing, sales, and service. These skills apply to a wide range of modern businesses, from drawing in customers to a business or product to retaining and satisfying those customers so they are likely to develop loyalty. Many organizations require experts in marketing, sales, and service to reach their goals. Students in career and technical education tracts in this cluster are likely to find jobs as data analysts, sales representatives, or marketing specialists.

Similarly, students interested in business may gravitate toward the career cluster of finance. Career and technical education can provide students with crucial foundational knowledge and hands-on instruction relating to numbers, mathematics, and bookkeeping crucial to many organizations, including calculating revenue, profits, and expenditures. Many students in this cluster seek to enter the world of finance at an entry-level, such as working with an accounts receivable branch of a business. To proceed to higher levels of financial employment, candidates are likely to require more traditional studies and certifications. However, finance students in career and technical education may have very fulfilling and well-paying career options ahead in fields such as controller, accountant, and accounts receivable expert.

Career and technical education may also prepare students for work in the growing field of tourism and hospitality, which relates to vacation destinations and the hotels, motels, and other facilities in which travelers stay. This industry is growing in many parts of the United States and other countries that are drawing tourists who seek relaxation, entertainment, or enlightenment. Students in this field may study rates of seasonal and year-round tourism, procedures for environmentally friendly hotels, and techniques for ensuring guests have a positive experience and want to return. Many students who focus on tourism live in the areas in which they work, giving them valuable native experience that allows them to show guests little-known attractions.

Students with a connection to the land may pursue courses in the cluster of agriculture, food, and natural resources. These fields encompass the broad scope of modern agriculture, from farms to markets to science labs to regulatory bodies. Students with an interest in plants, animals, or the environment may gain the necessary skills for entry-level jobs in farming, inspection, research, or wildlife management.

Transportation, distribution, and logistics is another cluster in career and technical education. This field concentrates upon the endless necessity of moving people and products from one place to another, either locally, between states, or internationally. Students who specialize in this area may learn about shipping goods, the trucking industry, and the workings of storage facilities, all necessary components for moving consumables between production facilities, sales platforms, and consumers. These students may become transportation analysts, logistics experts, or distribution managers, and may use a wide range of aptitudes, including organization, technology, and management skills.

Career and technical education students may also focus on getting involved in government and public administration. Typically, these students learn the basics of politics—such as the social contract, the levels of government, and types of civic participation—to start careers in local offices. From there, students may work their way into ever-higher levels of the political hierarchy. Their skills can provide a distinct advantage, but students in this field must remember that most important positions require election, so they must also gain skills in promoting themselves and gaining supporters.

The career cluster of law and public safety may also appeal to civic-minded career and technical students. This area encompasses law and order in a society, from law enforcement to criminal justice. Students in this field may find work on the streets, in the courtroom, or in various law offices. Most top-level participants in these fields have more advanced training and certifications, but career and technical education courses can prepare students for entry-level jobs, such as bookkeepers and paralegals, which can lead to valuable experience, promotions, or new opportunities.

Modern career and technical education includes a career cluster for arts and communications, including audio-visual communication. Students in these fields may gain important skills in a wide variety of tasks, ranging from setting up audio and lighting devices at public venues to painting artwork for display or backgrounds for performances.

Further Insights

Although career and technical education developed quickly in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, it is not a new idea. The roots of career and technical education may be traced to ancient times, when children learned from parents or guardians, or through apprenticeships to artisans or merchants to perform practical tasks that would provide them with a livelihood. In the US, formal career and technical-type learning began in earnest in the nation's earliest days, when reformers called for widespread public schooling that would include academics and skill-based lessons.

The United States began as a mainly agricultural country, but industrialization in the 1800s led to a demand for new kinds of workers with specific skills and knowledge. Students began gaining more options for vocational training, both in regular schools and dedicated training institutions. The forerunners of modern career and technical education schools appeared in big cities like St. Louis and New York around 1880. As the economy grew and diversified, so too did choices for educational specialties and professional pursuits.

The twentieth century saw a major burgeoning of vocational education. The wars of that century contributed to the growth of this education. Civilians were called to quickly learn new skills that would allow them to take jobs to help the war efforts. Veterans, meanwhile, sought to transition from military to civilian life by learning new trades. These activities made technical and vocational training essential across the country.

Traditional approaches to skill-based education, often termed vocational schools, were limited in their scope, often focusing on blue-collar fields such as construction, carpentry, or automotive repair. However, modern career and technical education may apply to almost every major industry, including cutting-edge areas such as computer science and green agriculture. Modern career and technical education students may apply their knowledge to fields including media, culinary arts, health sciences, entrepreneurship, politics, and the performing arts.

In the twenty-first century, many people are re-evaluating the value of career and technical education. Some critics believe it can limit a student’s rise into the highest levels of industry, which are traditionally reserved for people with extensive post-graduate degrees. In addition, focusing on a set of specific skills can limit a worker’s ability to change roles or jobs later on. Some people also focus on beliefs that career and technical education may inhibit student development in essential general learning areas, such as reading and writing. However, proponents believe this form of education can provide valuable foundational skills to students with limited money or time and give students a head start in rewarding careers and potential advancement. Some supporters of career and technical education note that the hands-on, real-life nature of these studies can improve student performance by increasing involvement and engagement. Alternately, students in more traditional tracts, who largely study theory, may feel like their studies have little real-world application and ultimately disconnect from the material.

Viewpoints

Career and technical educators point out that this form of teaching and learning can be very specific and versatile. This combination is rare in most traditional forms of education, in which lessons that are specific are usually resistant to adaptation and lessons that are versatile are usually quite general in scope. Career and technical education, on the other hand, offers training in specific skills using methods that can often be easily adapted to different learners, levels, settings, and situations.

Many educators have identified other aspects of career and technical education that separate it from different forms of teaching and learning, often in ways that may benefit students. One unique aspect of career and technical education is that it is based on skills, whereas many traditional forms of teaching focus on theories. Career and technical education does include some theoretical knowledge, usually essential fundamental ideas that are presented in introductory levels. Beyond that, career and technical education focuses heavily on skills through hands-on training, practice, and testing. Rather than asking students to memorize theories from textbooks, career and technical education instructors are more likely to teach by direct demonstrations and hands-on practice meant to impart and improve the students’ real-world abilities. Proponents of career and technical education believe this is a major benefit of this type of education because many related careers require that new practitioners have real-world experience in the field—a requirement that would be very difficult for theory-based students to meet.

Another unique aspect of career and technical education is that, unlike many other forms of education, it may be applied to both younger and older students. Some career and technical education lessons begin at the sixth-grade level. Educators find that students that young can grasp the need for career skills, and that starting early can provide students with ongoing, life-long opportunities for development and improvement. Some career and technical education programs begin in middle school, but most are active in the high school and post-secondary levels. Ninth grade is a common starting point for concentrated career and technical education in a field of the student’s choice. Some students focus on career and technical education training throughout their educational careers, while others use these classes as springboards to move into other fields or levels of education.

Unlike most traditional forms of education, career and technical education instructors are often experienced practitioners in their fields—rather than formally trained teachers—who apply their real-world knowledge directly to their lessons. Most learning institutions require career and technical teachers to hold a bachelor’s degree and work experience in their given field. Some states require teaching certificates or a specific license to work as a teacher. Some organizations have formed to help support these instructors, including the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and the Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs). These organizations may help instructors develop lesson plans, create accurate testing methods, and grade students in a meaningful way.

Bibliography

Brunner, E., et al. "The Promise of Career and Technical Education." The Brookings Institution, 20 Sept. 2019, www.brookings.edu/articles/the-promise-of-career-and-technical-education. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

Flynn, E. "What is Career and Technical Education, and Why Does it Matter?" Education Northwest, Feb. 2021, educationnorthwest.org/insights/what-career-and-technical-education-and-why-does-it-matter. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

"History of CTE." Association for Career & Technical Education, www.acteonline.org/history-of-cte. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

Mitchell, Eva. "Career Technical Education: Then, Now, and Next." Forbes, 24 Apr. 2024, www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2024/04/24/career-and-technical-education-then-now-and-next/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Schultz, J. "What is Career & Technical Education?" Applied Educational Systems, 14 Feb. 2023, www.icevonline.com/blog/career-technical-education-cte. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

"What is CTE?" Association for Career & Technical Education, www.acteonline.org/why-cte/what-is-cte. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.